The Original 5-Star Ratings

Forbes Travel Guide's professional inspectors visit every hotel, restaurant and spa that we rate. Our in-depth hotel inspections span two nights and three days.

We evaluate each property against up to 800 objective criteria with an emphasis on service.

Our inspectors are completely anonymous at all times, so that they can be sure they experience the same level of service and amenities that the average guest would.

Forbes Travel Guide, formerly Mobil Travel Guide, created the original 5-star rating system in 1958. ForbesTravelGuide.com is the only place you’ll find the complete directory of Forbes Travel Guide Star Rated properties.

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A shopper's dream in Chicago's Gold Coast

344 Rooms / 90 Suites

The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago's location in the center of the Magnificent Mile on Chicago’s exclusive Gold Coast can’t be beat. Shopping mecca Water Tower Place houses the hotel as well as some of the best stores and restaurants in the city. Just an elevator ride down from the Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star hotel in Water Tower Place is an elegant shopping center with more than 125 stores. You can also walk out the door to find high-end shops like Chanel, Cartier and Bloomingdale’s — it’s a shopper’s dream.

With some of the Windy City’s most prestigious shopping and fine dining at its feet, the luxury Chicago hotel is in the perfect location to enjoy the savviest sightseeing in the city. Spend an afternoon perusing works from Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Dalí at the nearby Art Institute of Chicago; walk across the street to see the historic Water Tower, one of a few structures to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871; or stroll over to popular Navy Pier along the lakefront.

The Rooms

While the 434 (including 90 suites) will wrap up a renovation in 2016, you can expect impressive views of Lake Michigan and the city’s skyline, since the hotel sits on the 15th to 30th floors of Water Tower Place. Along with the big-picture windows, the light-filled accommodations come with elegant furnishings in silver and cornflower blue. You’ll have solid sleep in the comfortable beds, outfitted with fluffy duvets. And beautiful marble covers the spacious bathrooms.

The Food and Drinks

Deca Restaurant and Bar is located in the main lobby, making it a prime meeting point for hotel guests and Chicago’s elite. Head to the Art Deco dining room for updated brasserie fare like filet mignon with grilled asparagus and housemade fries, or choucroute garni au mer, a hearty dish of Norwegian cod, smoked cod, scallops, lobster sausage, bacon and sauerkraut.

There’s no place like Chicago in the summertime, and hot rooftop bar The Dec is one of the best spots for handmade cocktails like El Diablo, made with Casamigos blanco tequila, ginger beer, crème de cassis and lemon. Another reason to visit the alfresco bar in the humid days of the summer is to cool off at the ice cream sundae cart.

The Amenities

An atrium-enclosed swimming pool and a fitness center with yoga and cardio classes (sign up for the rooftop yoga class, where you’ll do your downward dog on the 75th floor of the building and get amazing city vistas) round out some of the most memorable amenities available. There’s also a spa, where you can indulge in treatments like the anti-aging yoga facial, which targets points on your face and neck to relieve tension.

The eminently family-friendly hotel showers kids with perks. Children receive mini-sized robes, their own toiletries and also can partake in some spa services. Though, the favorite kiddie amenity is probably the candy man, who rolls his cart around to let little ones choose from jars teeming with sugary sweets.